Cullowhee, N.C. – Coming off a home-opening, four-set victory Tuesday over Gardner-Webb, Western Carolina volleyball opens the second half of nonconference play this weekend. The Catamounts travel to the North Carolina High Country for the Mountaineer Classic, hosted by longtime rival Appalachian State beginning Friday night at the on-campus Holmes Convocation Center.
The Catamounts open against North Florida on Friday at 6 p.m. before battling William & Mary on Saturday at 5 p.m. WCU closes out the weekend battling the host Mountaineers with a 2 p.m. first serve against App State.
All three matches will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats for each match, linked below and at CatamountSports.com.
Match One: Western Carolina (3-4) vs. North Florida (3-3)
Date: Friday, Sept. 11
Time: 6 p.m.
Site: Holmes Convocation Center (Boone, N.C.)
Live Video: ESPN+ (paid subscription required)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter: @CatamountVB
Match Two: Western Carolina vs. William & Mary (3-3)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 12
Time: 5 p.m.
Site: Holmes Convocation Center (Boone, N.C.)
Live Video: ESPN+ (paid subscription required)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter: @CatamountVB
Match Three: Western Carolina at Appalachian State (3-4)
Date: Sunday, Sept. 13
Time: 2 p.m.
Site: Holmes Convocation Center (Boone, N.C.)
Live Video: ESPN+ (paid subscription required)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter: @CatamountVB
From the Service Line:
Western Carolina opened its home slate with a win for the fourth time in the last five seasons as the Catamounts downed Gardner-Webb in four sets on Tuesday night in Cullowhee. Senior Zoe Zudans recorded a season-high 16 kills, and junior transfer Sophia Marini matched her season-best with 14 kills in the home-opening win. Freshman Aiyana Harris finished with nine kills with a .389 hitting percentage. Sophomore Tatum Sharp added eight kills and a career-best tying seven blocks to accompany a pair of service aces.
Entering Friday's Tournament Opener:
The Catamounts look to build on their best stretch since a 6-1 run between Sept. 13-25, 2024, when WCU won four straight matches over NC Central, Campbell, Winthrop, Campbell, and American, with the lone blemish coming to Georgia Southern. The Catamounts capped the seven-match stretch with wins over Alabama State and their SoCon opener against The Citadel before Hurricane Helene delayed the schedule.
Individually, Boney leads the Southern Conference and sits among the national leaders with 293 total assists, 90 more than anybody else in the conference. She is also fourth with an average of 9.16 assists per set. Coming off her team-best 16 kills on Tuesday, Zudans became the fourth player in the league to reach 80 or more kills with 82, fourth in the conference entering the weekend.
Sharp paces the league with 38 total blocks, 14 more than second place in the SoCon, and is fourth in rejections per set at 1.19. Boney checks into the weekend third with 23 stops, and Harris ranks seventh with 20 blocks. Elise Gurley leads the SoCon with 138 digs, one of only three SoCon players to eclipse the century mark at this point of the year. Her 4.31 digs per set average is also third.
The Catamounts also have a trio of players in the top 10 in aces: Cobb is tied for second with 11, Boney is tied for sixth at nine, and junior Halley Tang is tied for 10th at seven service aces.
As a team, WCU leads the SoCon in kills (360), is first in assists (338), first in blocks (66), first in blocks per set (2.06), first in digs (463), and service aces (49) while ranking fifth in digs per set (14.47). WCU heads to Boone also tied for second in the nation in seasonal sets played with 32 sets thus far in 2026.
Catamount Career Record Watch:
Katie Boney became the 12th player in school history to eclipse 2,000 career assists, moving past the 2K mark over the opening weekend at Clemson.
Boney needs just 38 helpers to move into WCU's top 10 and surpass Cristina Nazario (2013-15), who had 2,221 in her career. With her assist work in Asheville, Boney surpassed Catamount standout Sarah Janourova for 11th all-time in the program's record book for assists. Janourova (2021-2024) finished with 2,122 career assists, usurped by Boney, now with 2,139 assists to sit in sole possession of 11th in school history.
SCOUTING FRIDAY'S OPPONENT: North Florida (3-3) – 2025 RPI 181
Western Carolina and North Florida meet Friday for the first time since 2012, when UNF earned a four-set victory against the Catamounts in Rock Hill, S.C., in the lone head-to-head battle between the two schools.
North Florida (3-3) is reeling after consecutive losses to Tulane and Duke. The Ospreys opened the season with wins over SoCon foe Furman, George Washington and FIU.
Senior outside hitter Kaili Doctor leads North Florida through the opening six matches with 99 kills, twice eclipsing 20 kills, including 28 against Furman. Doctor also added 21 kills against FIU. Redshirt sophomore Dakota Spurrier has added 66 kills with four matches reaching double-digit kills and a pair of double-doubles.
Sophomore setter Sofia Dawson leads the Ospreys with 188 assists, with a double-double against Furman (50 assists, 14 digs). Senior libero/defensive specialist Emma Pohlmann leads North Florida with 69 digs, followed by 55 from Spurrier. Senior middle blocker Yarimar Francis Garay and sophomore middle blocker Haleina Bowers lead the Ospreys with 16 blocks apiece.
First-year head coach Abby Gilleland spent time as an assistant coach at Marquette, UConn, and Florida before moving into the head coach role in Jacksonville. UNF was tabbed fourth in the eight-team ASUN Preseason Poll, while Dawson was named Preseason Setter of the Year and sophomore Kendall Newbold earned Preseason All-Conference honors.
SCOUTING SATURDAY'S OPPONENT: William & Mary (3-3) – 2025 RPI 222
Western Carolina and William & Mary meet on Saturday for the first time since 2016, when the Tribe swept the Catamounts in Virginia. Four of the five all-time meetings have taken place at neutral sites, with William & Mary earning four 3-0 head-to-head wins.
William & Mary battles the host Appalachian State on Friday before squaring off with the Purple & Gold on Saturday. The Tribe (3-3) hits Boone riding a two-match win streak with victories over SoCon foe ETSU and Norfolk State, along with an early-season triumph over Virginia Tech.
Senior outside hitter Audrey Brcka leads William & Mary through six matches with 70 kills, including four double-digit kill matches, including a season-best 18 against Virginia Tech. Senior opposite side hitter Katherine Arnason has 55 kills along with a team-best 12 service aces, while freshman middle blocker Teagan Pocius has tallied 48 kills. Junior setter Cate Hatfield leads the Tribe with 212 assists, as she tallied a pair of double-doubles against ACC foes Virginia Tech and Virginia.
Graduate student defensive specialist/libero Avery Horejsi leads William & Mary with 94 digs, and sophomore middle blocker Olivia Westfort has a team-best 21 rejections.
First-year head coach Kellie Catanach Johnson spent the past seven seasons on the staff at her alma mater, Duke, as an assistant and associate head coach. William & Mary is tabbed eighth in the 11-team CAA Preseason Poll, while Arnason made preseason All-CAA and Horejsi was honorable mention.
SCOUTING SUNDAY'S OPPONENT: Appalachian State (3-4) – 2025 RPI 123
The weekend concludes in Boone with old SoCon rivals squaring off as Appalachian State and WCU meet for the first time since 2022, when WCU earned a five-set comeback win over the Mountaineers.
App State holds a 28-7 record against WCU in matches played in Boone, carrying a 13-match home series win streak into Sunday's meeting.
Appalachian State (3-4) is coming off a four-set victory over Elon, which was preceded by losses to East Carolina, SoCon foe UNCG, and common opponent Clemson. The Mountaineers began the season with wins over Charlotte and Bryant.
Junior outside hitter Bella Hutchens leads the Mountaineers with 93 kills, five times finishing with double-digit kills, including a season-best 19 last time out against Elon. Fifth-year outside hitter Brooke Doherty has added 83 kills and has tallied a pair of double-doubles for App State thus far. Junior setter Raegan Richardson leads the Mountaineers with 263 assists, securing back-to-back double-doubles entering the weekend.
Junior MeMe Davis leads the way with 143 digs that included a season-best 30 against N.C. A&T to open the season. Senior middle blocker Chelsea Gilmore leads the way for Appalachian State with 29 rejections.
Second-year head coach Chad Sutton leads the Mountaineers, having spent two seasons at SoCon foe Mercer before moving to Boone. He led the Bears to a 2024 NIVC appearance and the program's first outright regular-season SoCon title in Macon, Ga. ASU was tabbed fourth in the seven-team east division and ninth overall among the 14-team Sun Belt Conference in its preseason poll.
What's Next for the Catamounts:
Following Sunday's tournament finale, Western Carolina opens a busy week to wrap up nonconference play. On Tuesday, Sept. 15, the Catamounts travel to Asheville to square off with mountain rival UNC Asheville. The nonconference slate wraps up with a home-and-home against USC Upstate as the Catamounts host the Spartans on Thursday, Sept. 17, before traveling to Spartanburg the next night to end the pre-SoCon slate.
All three matches will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and live stats will be provided via a link at CatamountSports.com.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount volleyball and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts, @catamountvb), and X (@catamounts, @catamountvb).
